Lottery Odds a Real “Buzzkill”

“You’ll never see a statistician buying a lottery ticket,” Bruce Torff, a professor of teaching, learning and technology in the School of Education, told Newsday in an article about the chances of winning the latest Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots. He said the odds of a single ticket winning the Mega Millions jackpot is about 302 million to 1, while the odds for Powerball are slightly better at 292 million to 1.